The war on drugs is not working: this we’ve known for a long time. As with abortion and same-sex marriage – or biracial Cheerios – I can’t believe we are even having this conversation! It’s 2013, people. Women are equal to men. Rape is bad. Some women want to marry women and men want to marry men. Global warming is real. We all ride our bikes more than drive. Banks somehow get away with stealing money from people and life is not fair. And some people like to smoke marijuana, and some people actually need to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. So let’s deal with this like adults, shall we?

But there I am standing on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in front of thousands of people. Let’s face it: mostly teenagers and crusty hippies who tout the benefits of legalizing marijuana.

Why didn’t I do this in my twenties when I didn’t have a kid, and could have actually benefited from this kind of notoriety? No, I like to make my life difficult interesting and wait until I’m firmly in my (ahem) 40s with a child in second grade before I take a stand and embrace my legacy.

Maybe this is working out perfectly. Ending alcohol prohibition was spearheaded by a group of women (mothers) who realized that Prohibition was hurting more people than it was helping. Maybe it’s up to us, the moms of Canada, to get this marijuana thing legalized?

I’d rather have it sold and regulated like cigarettes to make it at least a challenge for my 12- year-old to get ahold of. Who’s with me? Okay! Let’s go smoke a jay to celebrate.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

Precious Chong is a writer and actor living in Toronto. She’s a professional stilt walker and daughter of cult movie hero Tommy Chong. Her podcast with Melissa Story is called “What’s the Story with Chong” and you can download it here.